Banish the barberry. Common barberry a menace in spring-wheat states - Spreads rust to wheat and other grains

Historic, Archive Document

Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

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n hedges in cities and suburbs, as well
as on farms, throughout these districts is a
fearful thorn in the side of the wheat raiser.
The presence of this shrub in your yard may
mean that your county or district produces
less bread to feed the Nation and the allies.
While the farmers are being urged to take
every cultural and protective measure to
prevent rusting of their fields, owners of
city yards and estates are called upon to

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Fie. 1.—Comimon pbarberry, showing cluster cups on

the leaves. Note the three-forked spines and the
irregular edges of the leaves.

spreader of stem-rust.

How serious the black rust is to the bread
supply of the Nation may be judged from
the fact that this disease was the principal
factor in reducing the yield of wheat alone
in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana,
and Minnesota by nearly 200,000,000 bushels
in 1916. Wherever grain is raised the pres-
ence of the common barberry bush may
mean less bread. Get rid of the barberry
bush and the farmers will be encouraged
to practice early seeding, use of proper
varieties of grain, effective soil manage-
ment, and clean culture, which help keep
this blight from the fields.

Common Barberry Spreads Rust.

The common barberry bush (Berberis vul-
garis), including the purple-leaved variety,
' nurses the black stem-rust through one of
its stages, helps it develop, and enables it
to spread to the grains in the spring and
early summer. (See figs. 1 and 2.) The
most direct method of attacking this rust is
to keep common barberry bushes out of
wheat-growing regions. No more common
barberry bushes should be planted; those
now growing should be destroyed by May
1 in order to protect this year’s crop. Less
barberry means more bread.

64688°—13

int ing-
arberry on lawns:

help by digging out and destroying this

t of asi
tend iles. They should be dug and
estroyed throughout the upper Mississippi

Valley, especially in the following States:

Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Da-

kota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wis-

consin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and

Ohio. Less is known about the importance

of barberry elsewhere. The question will

be investigated in all grain-growing regions
this season.

Japanese Barberry Harmless.

The Japanese barberry (Berberis thun-
bergit) does not rust; it is harmless and need
not be destroyed. Itis more beautiful, both
in summer and winter, than the common
barberry and can be distinguished from it
quite easily. The edges of the leaves of the
common barberry are toothed, while those
of the Japanese barberry are not; the spines
of the common variety are usually in groups
of three, while those of the Japanese are
usually single. (See fig. 3.) Both have red
berries, but those of the common form are
borne in racemes like currants, while those
of the Japanese form are borne singly like
gooseberries.

Destruction Prevented Rust in Denmark.

Black stem-rust has not been serious in
Denmark since barberry bushes were eradi-
cated. A law providing for compulsory
destruction of barberry bushes by owners
was passed in Denmark in 1903. The rust
had been serious periodically up to that
time, but it has ceased to be destructive
since the barberry bush was banned by law.

in North Dakota and
Manitoba.

Barberry Laws

Destruction of common barberry bushes
is required by law in North Dakota and
Manitoba. These laws were passed in 1917.
It is too early to know their effect on the
rust, but it is safe to say that if neighboring
States follow the example we shall have
more wheat for the allies and ourselves.

Other Methods of Preventing Rust.

Most good farmers know that proper cul-
tural practices will reduce the severity of

ti@. 2.—Cross section through barberry leaf, showing
cluster cups containing a large amount of spores
(“rust seeds’) at (a) and other rust structures at (p).

rust attacks. Conditions should be made as
favorable as possible for the grain, and as
unfavorable as possible for the rust. This
can be done in various ways.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
RUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY,
WASHINGTON, D. C.

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single barberry bush may

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well-drained land. Avoid pockets; rust is
likely to be more destructive on low, poorly —
drained soils. The moisture does not cause ~
rust, but enables it to spread rapidly.

Seed early in a good seed bed.—Grain which
ripens early often escapes rust. Seed early
on thorougly prepared land, thus giving
the grain a chance to ripen before the heavy
attacks of rust occur. A week’s difference
in ripening often means the difference be-
tween a good crop and a poor one.

Avoid excessive applications of manure.—
Overfertilization with nitrogen is likely to
cause heavy, weak straw development and
delayed ripening. When such plants rust

they usually crinkle badly and yield poorly.

Destroy wild grasses—Many wild grasses
are pernicious breeders and spreaders of
rust and should not be allowed to grow.
barley),

Squirrel-tail grass (wild

quack

Fie. 3.—Japanese barberry. Note the simple spines
and the entire edge of the leaves. This barberry
does not rust.

grass, slender wheat grass, western wheat
grass, and the wild rye grasses often rust
badly, even in years when grain crops do
not rust severely. This enables the rust to
persist more easily from one season to an-
other. It also enables the rust to spread
more widely in any given season. Clean
cultivation is one method of fighting rust.

Use early maturing or resistant varieties.—
Some varieties mature early and escape rust.
For this reason Marquis wheat may ripen
before rust becomes severe in the spring-
wheat area. Wherever early maturing va-
rieties otherwise desirable are available,
they should be used.

Resistant varieties are rare. Many durum
wheats do not rust severely, and where these
have been tried successfully they should be
used. Kanred, a hard winter wheat of the
Crimean group, is grown in Kansas and does
not rust as heavily as common varieties.

Breeding and selection work to secure
rust-resistant varieties is being done by the
Department of Agriculture in cooperation
with several States. Although no seed is
yet ready for distribution, progress is being
made.

Details have been omitted in this brief
discussion. Further information, however,
can be obtained. by writing to the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., or
any State experiment station.

WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICH : 1918